


A Difficulty With Dragons

by woodelf



Series: The Floofy!verse [11]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Lizard!Rumple, Magical Accidents, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:55:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26248267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woodelf/pseuds/woodelf
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin isn't going to let a little thing like having accidentally transformed himself into a lizard stop him from attending Henry's school awards ceremony.
Relationships: Baelfire | Neal Cassidy & Emma Swan, Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Henry Mills & Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Series: The Floofy!verse [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1836043
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26





	A Difficulty With Dragons

"Hey, Grandpa!”

The bell over the shop door jangled violently as Henry dashed in, his face alight with excitement. “Guess what?”

“You won the lottery?” Rumpelstiltskin hazarded, as he polished a bit of silver.

“Kids can’t buy lottery tickets.”

“Your parents are getting engaged?”

“I wish.” Henry scrunched up his nose. “Haven’t given up hope, though.”

Rumpelstiltskin leaned forward confidentially, resting his arms on the counter. “Any signs of progress? Walk in on any kisses?”

“Not yet. But they were standing really close together the other day when I came in, and they sort of sprang apart and looked awkward.”

“That does sound promising.” Rumpelstiltskin wasn’t sure when he’d gone from simply wanting his son to be happy to actively hoping he’d get back together with Emma Swan. Partly it was because he knew how happy it would make Henry, partly it was because he’d gotten to know Emma much better over the last several months and had gone from respect to actually liking her, and partly it was because he’d seen the way Neal looked at her.

“And I see the way they look at each other,” Henry added knowingly. “All mooshy-eyed and wistful. Dad, especially. Mom’s – well, I know she loves him too, but she’s more guarded.”

“Well, we shall hope, my boy. These things take time. Now, what was your news?”

“Oh, yeah – I won first prize in my school’s essay-writing competition!”

“Good for you, Henry. Although I can’t say I’m surprised; you’re a talented young man.”

Henry bounced on the soles of his sneakered feet. “And it’s only my first year in junior high. Mr. Emrys says usually the winner is one of the older kids.”

“Well, I’d say that calls for a celebratory ice cream. Care to go for a cone? No, I think this merits at least a sundae. Maybe a banana split.” He came around the end of the counter.

“Awesome.” Henry grinned, falling into step beside his grandfather as they left the shop and headed for the nearby ice cream parlour. “Anyway, I was wondering if you’d like to come to the school awards ceremony?.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

***************

“Dinner will be ready soon,” Belle called from the top of the basement stairs. “So we can finish in plenty of time to get to Henry’s ceremony. Is it safe to come down?”

“Yes, I’m not working on anything dangerous.” Rumpelstiltskin carefully poured a measure of liquid from a beaker into another bottle and set it aside. “Just mixing up a few potions.”

“What for, if I may ask?” Belle reached the bottom of the stairs and crossed to Rumpelstiltskin’s side in what had become his laboratory.

“Well, this one – ” He stopped. nose twitching, and suddenly sneezed violently, the force of it causing some drops to splash up out of the beaker and onto his wrist. 

“Damn.” He set the beaker down and hastily reached for a rag, but the damage had already been done. They both looked on as a patch of tawny gold scales appeared on the inside of his wrist.

“Rumpel –” Belle began worriedly, when there was a sort of flash and a pop and he was gone. “Rum –” She screamed and jumped back as something moved on the floor by her feet. 

The large lizard – _Bearded Dragon_ , her mind supplied helpfully, recalling the picture from a children’s book of reptiles she had flipped through before re-shelving it – scrambled back, looking just as upset as she was, and vaguely apologetic. Noting its hide was the same tawny gold colour as the patch that had appeared briefly on Rumpelstiltskin’s wrist, it didn’t take Belle long to put two and two together. 

“Rumpel?”

The lizard bobbed its broad, flat head in what she assumed was a “yes”.

“You can understand me?” she asked, to be clear.

_Nod._

“That…that wasn’t supposed to happen, was it?”

The lizard shook its head glumly. _No._

 _“_ All right…um, let me pick you up and put you on the table, okay?”

Rumpelstiltskin held still as she squatted and awkwardly put her hands around him, seeking a secure grip as she picked him up. Rising, she placed him on the table and looked at him uncertainly. The lizard blinked back.

“Is – is there a way to turn you back?” Belle asked hopefully. 

Rumpelstiltskin turned away, searching, and picked a pen up in his mouth. 

“You want to write something? But you can’t hold a pen, can you?” They both looked at his clawed foot. “No, of course not. But…hang on, I’ve got an idea. Don’t go anywhere.” She dashed up the stairs, and soon came clattering back down with the canister of flour. “Move aside.” She shooed him gently out of the way, and sprinkled out a layer of flour on the table. “There. Can you write in that? With your claw? I can just smooth it back out when you run out of space.”

Rumpelstiltskin carefully lifted his foot and slowly drew the letters in the flour.

**POTION**

“You can make a potion? I mean, I can? An antidote? Can you tell me how?”

He nodded, and began to write out instructions, having to be careful not to smudge out any letters with his low-slung body or knock over any objects with his tail. Belle saw the way he froze when it first inadvertently struck a bottle and quickly cleared the rest of the table, giving him room to move without worry. 

“Better?” she asked.

He nodded. 

“You know, you’re actually kind of cute,” she observed, running a finger down his back.

He glared balefully at her and resumed writing.

**************************

It took a while, but at last Belle had a vial of antidote prepared, and carefully poured it into Rumpelstiltskin’s mouth when he opened it for her. He swallowed and grimaced. 

“How long will it take?” she asked.

He drew a question mark in an unused patch of flour, and glanced at the clock. 

**HENRY!** He wrote.

Belle looked at the time. “We could still make it, but –” She took her lower lip in between her teeth.

Rumpelstiltskin scratched quickly, having become rather more adept at it over the last hour. **CALL. EXPLAIN.**

Belle took out her phone and dialed, speaking after a minute when it was answered. “Hi, Henry. Look, there’s been an accident –” She broke off for a moment, and then quickly reassured. “No, everything’s fine – I mean, no one is hurt, not really. It’s just that there was a sort of magical mishap…”

Rumpelstiltskin paced back and forth on the table impatiently as she explained the matter to Henry, his tail dragging behind him and having to be accounted for when he reached the end of the table and turned around to pace the other way. He’d been called a lizard before, but this was ridiculous! He wondered what he looked like, other than the small bits of himself that he could see. Belle thought he looked _cute_?

“Henry wants to know if you still want to come?” Belle asked. “He says he understands if you don’t –”

**GO**

“Are you sure?” she asked doubtfully.

Rumpelstiltskin nodded violently. “He says he wants to come, Henry. We’ll try your suggestion. See you there.” She hung up and surveyed him thoughtfully; he was at least a good foot and a half long. "Henry suggested that I could smuggle you into the auditorium in a tote bag. I think I have a bag that would work, if you don’t mind curling up a bit.. What if you change back during the ceremony, though? Will you still have your clothes on?“

Rumpelstiltskin peered over the edge of the table at the floor. 

**TRANSFORMED WITH ME. WILL HAVE.**

"Okay. I’ll just take a blanket, then, to cover you up with. I think Henry’s actually looking forward to seeing you like this.” She giggled. 

***************

Henry was watching for them, and stood up and waved them to the empty seats between himself and his parents, Snow and Charming in the next seats down from them. Everyone looked with interest at Belle and the oversized bag she carried. She took her seat and placed it on her lap. A spiky, scaled head cautiously poked out. 

Henry’s face split into a wide grin. "Really?“ He glanced at Belle.

"it is,” she assured him. “I was there when it happened.”

“Thanks for coming, Grandpa." He reached out and stroked a gentle finger over Rumpelstiltskin’s head. Rumpelstiltskin thought he really should be more offended at being treated like a pet but decided it was the current equivalent of a hug. He nuzzled Henry’s hand. 

"Hey, Mom, I know you said I can’t get a dog right now but what about –”

“No,” Emma said promptly, then saw the way Henry’s face fell. “I – look, we’ll talk about it later, okay?”

“He’s actually kind of cute,” Neal observed, and Rumpelstiltskin turned his head and fixed his son with one disgusted eye. Why the hell was everyone calling him cute?

Charming was smirking; it looked like he was just about to make a comment when the principal walked on stage and started the proceedings. Rumpelstiltskin withdrew his head back into the bag, and was content to snuggle down while various awards were given out, feeling the heat of Belle’s lap beneath him and her hand resting lightly against the side of the bag. It was only when Henry’s name was announced as the winner of the essay contest and the clapping rose around him that he stirred and poked his head out again, watching as Henry made his way up to the stage to accept his certificate and shake the principal’s hand. 

“I was very impressed with your essay, Henry. I think everyone here would enjoy hearing it. Will you read it aloud to us?” Principal Hutira handed back the essay that Henry had turned in.

Henry took it and positioned himself behind the podium, glancing down at his paper and then looking out over the audience for a moment, grinning to himself as he sought for and found one particularly attentive-looking lizard. “My essay is "Why Fairy Tales Are Important In This World We Live In,” he began in a clear, earnest voice, and Rumpelstiltskin pulled himself a little further out of the bag. feeling a swell of pride. It was a topic that everybody in the audience could relate to, and soon everyone was listening with interest. The only person in the dim auditorium whose sharp, roving eyes noticed the lizard with a frill of spikes framing its face on Mrs. Gold’s lap was Nicholas Tillman, and he prudently kept silent, wondering if he could wrangle an invitation over to Henry’s grandparent’s house, if they had adopted such a cool pet.

“…Not everyone here became part of a fairy tale. Not everyone can be a prince or a princess or a mermaid or an enchanted frog. Although personally I don’t know why you would want to be. Think of the flies. Ugh.” Henry made a face and got a chuckle from the audience as he neared the end of his paper. “But everyone here _can_ be a hero or heroine. You don’t need to slay a dragon or break an evil curse, all you have to do is look around you. Help someone carry their bags. Stand up to a bully. Look for that lonely person that needs a friend and say hello. Know someone’s who struggling with math but you’re good at it? Offer to tutor them. Know someone who’s old or sick or can’t get around very well? Offer to mow their lawn, or rake leaves, or run errands.” He paused, and added slyly, “I believe ten dollars an hour is a very fair price.” Another ripple of laughter, and someone calling out that that was cheap and that he had jobs to do if anyone was interested.

Henry folded his paper and put it in his pocket. “Be kind,” he finished. “Be brave. Be willing to work hard. We might not all be famous, but we’re all part of a story. Our story. We’re writing it, every day of our lives. Make sure it’s a good one worth the telling. Thank you.”

He came down off the stage to thunderous applause. Rumpelstiltskin discovered the only sound his current body could make was a hissing noise, so he hissed enthusiastically. Emma dashed the tears from her eyes and looked at Neal, seeing him rapidly blinking back the wetness in his as well. She touched his hand with hers and wordlessly he enfolded it within his own. 

“That was wonderful, Henry,” Belle whispered as he rejoined them. 

“I’m so damn proud of you, I feel like I’m gonna burst,” Neal agreed. 

They all whispered their praise and congratulations and Rumpelstiltskin snuggled back down into the bag after nuzzling Henry again and getting petted in return, planning to doze out of sight until the rest of the awards were given out and they could go home. Half awake, he vaguely got the sense that they were wrapping up at last when he began to feel odd. His skin felt too tight, and was prickling…panicking, he kicked out, lashing his tail, and Belle grabbed onto the bag reflexively to keep it from falling off of her lap. 

“What’s wrong?” whispered Henry, noticing. 

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s about to change back…”

“ _Go,_ ” Henry urged, pointing to the aisle, and Belle quickly got up, clutching the bag to her chest and hurrying as much as possible towards the exit without attracting any unwanted attention. 

“It’s almost over; we might as well go too,” Neal whispered, and it was enough permission that Henry was off like a shot, the others following at a somewhat slower pace behind him. Henry emerged into the empty school corridor just in time to see Belle place her bag on the floor, and Rumpelstiltskin scramble out of its confining folds before there was a whooshing noise, and where the lizard had been, his grandfather was standing, his charcoal grey suit looking rather wrinkled. Rumpelstiltskin brushed himself down, and caught side of Henry, staring wide-eyed. 

“Well, that was an experience,” he said with a grin. “Excellent paper, Henry. You have a fine career ahead of you as a writer, if you want to pursue it.”

“Really? You think so?” Henry looked pleased. “Are you okay? What was it like, being a lizard?”

“Well, for once in my life I’m feeling unusually tall right now," Rumpelstiltskin remarked drily, and Henry laughed.

The rest of the family came through the door into the corridor, and Neal looked relieved when he spotted his father. "Everything all right, then?”

“No ill effects," Rumpelstiltskin reassured him. "At least I don’t think so. If I develop a craving for insects, I’ll let you know.”

“Reminded me a bit of your old self in there,” David observed, grinning.

“You," Rumpelstiltskin pointed accusingly, "have been wanting to say that since the start of the program, haven’t you?”

“I couldn’t resist,” David said sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“No, you’re not, so don’t pretend.”

“Except maybe a little better-looking,” added David innocently.

“What the hell did I look like?” Rumpelstiltskin demanded. “Belle said I was cute, _Neal_ said I was cute, I should have looked in a mirror.”

“You looked like a Bearded Dragon,” said Belle promptly. “I can show you a picture in a book.”

“Oh. That doesn’t sound like it should be cute, though.” he said suspiciously. "What about you, Henry?“

"You were really Interesting looking.”

Well, ‘interesting’ was better than 'cute’, Rumpelstiltskin decided. "Emma? Snow?“

"Um, no,” Emma declared. “Not cute in my book.”

“Yeah.” Snow wrinkled her nose with an expression of distaste. “You had all these spiky bits coming out of your face.” She gestured along her jawline. 

“Well, good to know not all my family thinks I’m better looking as a lizard,” said Rumpelstiltskin dryly. 

“I didn’t say you were better looking,” Belle soothed. “I like this form much better.” She stretched up and kissed his cheek. 

“Thank you, sweetheart. Now, Henry, since we’re all writing our stories every day, what do you want your next chapter to be about?”

Henry thought. “Getting some ice cream?”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Emma ruffled his hair fondly. 

“It’s got calcium,” Henry said matter-of-factly. “Calcium is important for growing bodies.”

“Well, you certainly had a growth spurt this past year,” Emma remarked. “It must be working. What do you say, Dad?” She nudged Neal. “Has our son earned a treat tonight?”

“I think so.” Neal smiled.

“We’ll pass, if you don’t mind,” said Snow. “I don’t like to be away from Daniel for too long.”

“No, of course not.” Henry gave his grandparents a hug. “Thanks for coming. Say hello to Uncle Danny for me." 

"Granny’s?” suggested Rumpelstiltskin, when the Nolans had said their goodbyes and left. “Belle and I missed our dinner, mixing up that antidote. And may I say, my dear,” he turned to Belle, “You did a wonderful job of it. Although the taste did leave something to be desired.” He made a face at the memory.

“Thank you.” She inclined her head. “And you know what they say about medicine, the worse it tastes, the better it works. Luckily it was just pasta and salads I was making for dinner. We can reheat it and have it tomorrow, no problem.”

“Any reason you have to stick around, kid?” asked Emma, as the sounds coming from the auditorium indicated that the program was breaking up. A teacher opened the double doors and put the kickstands down. “Or can we get out of here before the rest of the crowd?”

“Nope. I’m good to go. And Granny’s is fine with me.”

“All right, Granny’s it is. My treat,” said Gold.

“I really appreciate that you came tonight despite your little…difficulty,” Neal said as he fell into step beside his father on the way out. “Henry really wanted you to be here.”

“I missed too many years of your life, son,” Rumpelstiltskin said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not going to miss any of Henry’s, or yours, as long as I’m welcome.”

“You know you are,” said Neal. “Besides, I think I would have a teenage rebellion on my hands if I told Henry he couldn’t see you anymore.”

Rumpelstiltskin smirked. “I must be doing something right.”

“Yeah, ice cream on demand. I’ve seen the inside of your freezer.”

“Moi?” Rumpelstiltskin put his hand to his chest dramatically. “I happen to like ice cream. It’s nothing whatsoever to do with spoiling my grandson.”

“So it’s just a coincidence that Superman is your favourite flavour too?” Neal asked sarcastically. 

“Yes. It’s colourful.” Rumpelstiltskin fought back a smile. 

“Well, it matches your personality, then,” Neal shot back.

“If you’ve got it,” Rumpelstiltskin gestured flamboyantly, “Flaunt it.”

Belle snorted.

“What?" Rumpelstiltskin looked offended. "You never used to laugh at me when we were at the Dark – oh, wait, yes. Yes, you did,” he remembered. “Very strange sense of humour, your grandmother,” he informed Henry. “I’d threaten to turn her into a toad and she’d just give me this little smile.”

Henry turned around, walking backwards. “She knew you didn’t mean it, right?”

“Well, toads don’t make very good maids. So probably, yes – Hey!” He whirled to face Belle. “Did you just whack me on the head?”

“it was just a light tap,” she retorted, and smoothed his mussed hair back down, unperturbed.

Neal moved over to Emma and Henry’s sides, to be out of the way of any retaliation, but Rumpelstiltskin’s glare was already softening.. 

“I can’t believe that’s the same man I met when I first came to town,” Emma marveled, watching the exchange.

“I know. It’s great, isn’t it?” said Neal happily. “Belle’s turned the Dark One into the Dork One.”

“I HEARD THAT." Rumpelstiltskin turned an outraged face towards his son.

"Yeah, so? Are you gonna turn me into a toad?” Grinning, Neal did a very passable imitation of his father’s flamboyant hand gesture. Everyone except Rumpelstiltskin laughed. 

“Did I look that silly when I did that?” he asked after a moment.

“Yeah,” said Emma.

“Yes,” giggled Belle.

“Pretty much,” admitted Henry. “But I like it. It’s funny.”

Rumpelstiltskin sighed. “It probably came off better with the way I used to look. All right, no toadifying of relatives.” They reached the diner and Henry opened the door and held it while everyone trooped in.

Once upon a time, the entrance of Mr. Gold into Granny’s Diner had been the cause for silence to fall and lowered eyes. No longer. As the family came in, joking and chatting, people looked up and smiled. Some called hellos.

And if pressed to admit it, Rumpelstiltskin wouldn’t have changed it back for anything in the world. 

**Author's Note:**

> Art by iatethebiscuit!


End file.
